Using Discover Credit Cards For Balance Transfers
Discover credit cards have been around for quite some time. Actually Discover is one of the 4 major credit card companies as you may know already. Due to the overwhelming competition in the credit card industry, most major credit card companies are offering balance transfer credit cards. Discover is no different. Most discover credit card offers come with balance transfer abilities. There are a few things you want to keep in mind however when using Discover balance transfer credit cards:
Transfer Your Balance On The Application
Discover credit card applications allow you the opportunity to transfer your balance while filling out the application. As you go through the online application, you will come across a section called Balance Transfers. It is important to fill this section out. This is for a few reasons. At the time of writing this article, Discover had 2 balance transfer fees. If you complete the transfer while filling out the application, the fee for the transfer is only 3% however, if you complete the transfer after you are approved for the balance transfer card, the fee will be 5%. This means that you save $20 for every $1,000 you transfer by completing the transfer on the application. Another reason for this is that at the time of writing this article, balance transfers completed on the application came with a 0% introductory interest rate for 12 months whereas, if you waited until you were approved, that 0% introductory APR only lasted for 6 months.
Pay Attention To The Standard Interest Rate
The purpose of using a balance transfer credit card is to reduce the interest fees that you are paying for your debts. Although the 0% introductory interest rate does look pretty good, this interest rate doesn’t last forever. The standard interest rate is the APR you will pay once the 0% introductory period is over. With Discover cards, the standard interest rate is usually between 10.99% and 15.99% depending on your credit history. Make sure that your new standard interest rate will be less than the amount that you are paying right now.
Pay Attention To Rewards
Discover Bank is one of those that is known for the tremendous rewards offered with their credit cards. Even Discover balance transfer cards come with rewards. If you like to travel, you may want to choose to use Escape by Discover Card, this card offers you travel bonuses. However, if you don’t really know what kind of rewards you will use most, you may want to go with the Discover More Card because this card gives you all kinds of ways to redeem your reward points from cash back, to travel, and even store gift cards. Either way, if you don’t pay attention to the rewards offered, you won’t be getting the most bang for your buck!